CT of orbital infection and its cerebral complications.

Review of the clinical and radiologic findings in 18 patients with orbital infection revealed that computed tomography (CT) is a very informative method of evaluating orbital infection. It is capable of demonstrating the presence, location, and extent of subperiosteal abscesses, intraorbital foreign bodies, intraconic scarring, as well as the cerebral complications of cerebritis, brain abscess, and epidural infection. In this group of patients, the most common cause of orbital cellulitis was sinusitis (eight cases). The second most common cause (seven cases) was trauma (orbital fractures or foreign bodies).